LUT 2013 Podium Result – An Epic race with a Stunning Scenery

Jul 1, 2013

Due to wintry conditions the 7th edition of The North Face Lavaredo Ultra trail saw a change in the race course, shortening the race down from 118km to 85Km. These unexpected last changes did not in anyway affect the quality of the race. The morale of the athletes remained high as the weather was near perfect for race conditions with sun and mid temperatures.

From the start, The North Face® athletes Mike Wolfe and Mike Foote dictated the pace and reached the half way Misurina check point (42K) looking strong and ready to push for victory. Due to course changes, the two American athletes lost their way, and continued off course towards Tre Cime di Lavaredo instead of turning down to Val Rienza. They covered an additional 6 km and accumulated height gain of 500 meters reaching the Auronzo refuge planned in the original race program. The two athletes now found themselves 30 minutes behind the race leader, in 9th and 10th positions respectively.

With such a hefty diversion, they had to come up with a new race plan. Mike Wolfe accomplished an impressive second half of the race, overtaking seven runners including Italian athlete Ivan Geronazzo in the final descent from Lago Ghedina, and crossed the finish line in second place. Mike Wolfe explains: “Realizing that I followed the wrong race course for 45 minutes, I felt stunned but did not want to quit. I started racing again, giving everything that I had. I cannot believe that I reached the second spot on the podium and I am very proud of my team mate Mike Foote being 5th”. We experienced such a special race in an amazing landscape.

Fellow countryman, Mike Foote states: “We both lost a huge amount of time and energy but we stayed strong and we played as a team encouraging each other. Recovering from this adversity was challenging. I felt mentally down for a while and it was hard to catch up but I am really impressed with today’s results. The surroundings and the scenery are striking, I have never run in such a location in my life!”

Fantastic victory for 25-year-old Frenchman Sebastien Spehler who ran his first ultra trail ever and reached the 1st spot on the podium. Coming from a short distance race background his achievement is even more impressive.

We use cookies that collect personal information to recognize you on following visits and ease your surfing, for marketing purposes and statistical/web analytics. Please see our Cookie Policy for further information, how to disable cookies and exercise your privacy rights. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OKCookie Policy